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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Decap CMS

Craft CMS vs Decap CMS

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Decap CMS is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 17.

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Decap CMS Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Decap CMS on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.

WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.

Feature comparison

Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available
Craft CMS vs Decap CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Decap CMS Headless
Overview
What it is Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.Open-source Git-based CMS. A React admin app added to your site edits Markdown, YAML or JSON files and commits them to your repository.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026 Decap CMS 3, open source. Decap Turbo hosted backend is in public preview. Version 3.16.3, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Decap CMS project (formerly Netlify CMS), maintained in Europe decapcms.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available Open source MIT
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. Self-hosting Vendor cloud Decap Turbo, a hosted backend for login and Git access, is in public preview.
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigJavaScript, React
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLYour Git repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or Azure
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise on request. Free to start Free and open source. The Decap Turbo hosted backend, in public preview, has a Free plan and Pro at €19 per month.
Content modelling
Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited. Built in Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7 Built in Collections and fields are defined in config.yml. 6
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 6 Not available
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8 Built in List widget with variable types. 7
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61 Built in Side-by-side editing per locale, stored per folder, file or field. 8
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in 10 Not available Media goes to the repo or an external media library.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12 Not available Content is files in Git. Read them through the Git host API. 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13 Not available Use the Git host's webhooks on commit.
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Twig templates. Not available Pairs with a static site generator. 2
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 14 Built in Editorial workflow keeps drafts on a branch until merged. 9
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Post date and expiry date on entries. 15 Not available
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14 Not available History lives in Git. The CMS has no revision view.
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in Preview pane with custom templates and styles. 10
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14 Limited Preview pane beside the form. No click-to-edit on the live page. 10
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16 Limited Fixed Drafts, In review and Ready stages. No per-stage permissions. 9
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Not available
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. Not available Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51 Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has a custom roles add-on at €19 per month on Pro. Core uses Git access. 1214
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Paid tier Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65 Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 13 Limited Sign-in runs through the Git host or Turbo. SAML only where the Git host enforces it. 413
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20 Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has an activity log on its Free plan. Core has Git history only. 12
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Included on every edition. 19 Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo organizations share members across sites. Turbo is in public preview. Extra sites €10/month. 1412
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in Custom widgets, preview templates and editor components. 1110
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Not available No official extension directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171 Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5 Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI feature. Not available
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19 Not available

Considering more platforms? Compare Craft CMS and Decap CMS with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Decap CMS get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Craft CMS has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Decap CMS has 6. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Licence
Craft CMS is closed source (Proprietary Craft License, source available). Decap CMS is open source (MIT).

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Decap CMS 8

  • Content model in the UI Craft CMS: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Image transformations Craft CMS: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Renders the website Craft CMS: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Version history Craft CMS: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Craft CMS: Built in. Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Plugin marketplace Craft CMS: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.

Built in on neither, with different answers 9

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Decap CMS: Limited.
  • Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Craft CMS: Paid tier. Decap CMS: Limited.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Decap CMS: Not available.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Decap CMS: Not available.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Craft CMS vs Payload.

Craft CMS against other platforms

Decap CMS against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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